Ranchi: More than one lakh primary school teachers of Jharkhand will go on two days' mass casual leave from Tuesday to protest abduction and killing of two teachers in the state's Gumla district.

The two teachers were killed last week for not meeting extortion demands. Teachers are also targeted by criminals as they are involved in construction works of schools as is the practice in Jharkhand.

The Jharkhand Primary Teachers Association (JPTA) called for the mass casual leave. "We demand that the teachers should not be involved in non-teaching work like construction work of the school buildings. We will go on two days' mass leave from Tuesday," JPTA spokesman Sanjay Kumar told reporters here on Monday.

"The state government has made the teachers contractors. Teachers are employed in non-teaching work. Levy is demanded from the teachers and denial leads to their killings. How a teachers could provide quality education if involved in non-teaching and construction work?" said JPTA general secretary Ram Murti Thakur.

"In Jharkhand, teachers are used for building the schools, for boundary work of the school, midday meal work, installing hand pumps, bringing foodgrain for the midday meal and others," he alleged.